Anger at award for lawyer who quit child sex abuse inquiry

Fiona Woolf, who quit the child sex abuse inquiry, has been made a dameTimes Newspapers Ltd

The honours system came under attack last night after the City lawyer who was forced to resign as chairman of the government’s child abuse inquiry was appointed a dame in the new year’s honours list.

The appointment of Fiona Woolf comes two months after she quit over her links to Lord Brittan of Spennithorne, who has been caught up in allegations of an establishment cover-up of abuse claims in the 1980s.

Simon Danczuk, the Labour MP for Rochdale, said it was a case of establishment figures “looking after their own”.

“Fiona Woolf caused unnecessary distress to victims of child abuse and caused a lengthy and avoidable delay to a very serious inquiry that urgently needs to get started,” he said. “It seems inappropriate that she’s…